St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-05
The HONORED DEAD.
An Eloquent Tribute to the
Memory Of Henry Ward
Beecher.
Rev. DR.. Parker's Eulogy
Listened to by an I'M
menSe Concourse.
The Great London Divine Ex-
tremely Felieitous in His
Language.
Beautiful Characterization of
the Life and Work Of Ply
mouths Pastor.

Parker, of the City Temple, London,
delivered eulogy upon the late Henry
Ward Beecher at the Brooklyn Ac-
cademy of Music tonight. The audi
torium was packed with a brilliant
audience. He began with the burden
some character of the task assigned to
him, ''It over weights me-" he said.
'Were some other man," he added, ito
claim this honor on the ground of
superior genius, he should have it
instantly, with my hearts absolute
consent; but no man shall take it from
me on the plea of larger love.''
He brought to his task an
''entire love-" s.If love is
genius,' he said, 81 claim to be called
ON first, and the fact that each of us
would claim priority only shows that the
Salnted name we immOrtalize to-day
works like spell upon our imagination
and is in the keeping of universal love- -
AS an Engllshman DR.. Parker claimed
an advantage which no American could
ENJOY. Distance was essential to true
color, proportion and perspective. 1t
got rid of detail, friction and tumult.
Three thousand miles away there was
seen only the outline of a noble figure.
Results only were seen, not processes.
In the criticism, therefore, of man
like Beecher," said DIR. Parker. "Chris-
tlan EDglishmen are
ENABLED TO MAKE HISTORY
before the time, and to award honor as
II with the serenity of accumulated
years, whilst some of the men in his
own country, as to whose ability and
sincerity there cannot be a shadow of
honest doubt, are yet unable to escape
the limitations of locality and vision.
we must stand away from the mountain
If we would see its magnitude. Crit
lciSm that is attempted by Ndmiring
memory is not bound by the vulgarity
OF the naked eye. After some glowing
tributes to America, its vitality, its free
dom, Its emancipation from the anti
quated ideas that weigh down the old
world, its eternal hOpefulness, he said:
You have no primogeniture in
entail, no house of lords. no titular
aristoeraey. Yet yours are the
vital and noble conditions which make
Henry Ward Beechers possible. Henry
Ward Beecher never could have been
in Europe what he was in America.
You gave him scope; you created oppor-
tunlties for him; your journals multi
Piled his influence; your whole people
applauded and consolidated his indepen-
dence. We must never forget what the
nation did for the man, even when we
remember most gratefully what the man
did for the nation. America lit is not too
much to say redresses the balance of
nations by showing that Casarism is
neither necessary to greatness nor re-
quired for security. A free country
grows free men, and freemen honor the
responsibilities of liberty with
DR.. Parker described the child hoodof
Beecher. 1.-THE house at Litchfieldn he
said, twas not much of nest for such
an eagle, but in it there were an altar.
Bible, secret gate opening immedi-
ately upon heaven. The fresh air got
well around, the birds sang in the trees
above the sunny roof Lyman, his
father, and RoXana, his mother, were
enough to account for any genius, for
their spiritual quality was purely aris-
tocratic and enough to account for any
goodness, for they held largely daily
commerce with heaven. He briefly out
lined MIR. Beecher'S early career until
he became "a king whose throne was in
Plymouth church. and where the scep-
ter touched the uttermeSt parts of the
earth" No man had ever questioned
Mr.. Beecher's divine right to be a
preacher. He looked preacher and
none the less because he looked man.
He excited no sentiment by pale, sick
illness of complexion. DR.. Parker ana
lyZed Mr.. Beecher's pulpit gifts. He
said: "Mr. Beecher's discourses were
unique in their intellectual range,
though free from a certain monotony of
conception and even form. Other men
have occasional power; now and again
they can soar high or work miracles in
thought and eloquence: some invisible
moon brings up
THE TIDE OF MENTAL ENERGY:
they make supreme efforts and suffer
days after in consequence of unusual
expenditure of force. They thus amaze
themselves and amaze others, and are
pensively inquired about as men who
are hardly expected to recover from
their infinite fatigue. Mr.. Beecher was
great without toll, mighty without eX-
hauStiOn, and so redundant were his
pulpit miracles that they were in danger
of being treated as common places.
Other mems sermons but were his intro
ductions, where they said Amen to
their own relief and the delight of
many, he said firstly when they had
given out all their bread, he began to
drawn from every field and vine
yard accessible to pulpit gen
ius. Then the monotony of the
mere framework or outline was forgot
ten in the multitude and vividnesS of
the illustrations which turned abstract
truth into concrete pictures. Mr..
Beecher had a supreme gift of language,
as was betOkened by his planet-llke eyes
eyes as full as Shakespeare, as radi-
ant as Gladstone'S, as expressive as
Garrick's. In the use of words he was
necromancer; unconSciouSly so to a
large extent, for he never knew how
well he was expressing himself. Yet
to limit his elOQuence to his words were
either ignorance or injustice. Fluency
in a preacher is often disease: in
some instances it is a crime-alwavS a
crime when it deposes conscience and
prefers it's own windiness to honest
painstal1ing. Mr.. Beecher's eloquence
was like the f1uency of the Atlantic-a
constant motion. a mysterious depth,
an infinite careSs or infinite assault.
OF OUR sAINTED FRIEND
it may be truly said that his thoughts
were greater than his language. Every
word had its own TINT of intellectual
beauty; every sentence its own freight
of rich meaning; every sermon its
gallery of pictures of its galaxy of
stores. His words were innumerable
because his thoughts were countless.
We have had great preachers in Eng
land, but Mr.. Beecher stood apart from
them by the very fact that whilst they
purchased their pulpit eminence by
great expenditure of effort, he was evi-
IDENTIFY free. born. He toiled not, nor